A grower-focussed best management practice program designed to mitigate sediment and nutrient loss from banana farms has celebrated a decade of achievements.
The Australian Banana Growers' Council (ABGC) has commenced the third Queensland Government-funded instalment of its Banana Best Management Practice program, with $1 million available in grants to help farmers adopt change on farm over the next four years.
ABGC industry strategy manager Michelle McKinlay said the program's grower focus was the reason behind its success to date.
"We designed the BMP to be consistent with farming practice so that growers can easily adopt change and improve what they are doing, consistent with the type of farming practices and principles that they are familiar with," Ms McKinlay said.
"The uptake and interest has been excellent.
"From the beginning growers have done their own self assessment of their practices against a check list and we have been able to take it to the next level through funding from the Queensland Government."
The program has achieved on-farm practice change across a number of different areas including improved inter-rows, soil conservation and improved fertiliser usage.
Ms McKinlay said the ABGC best practice team focussed on helping farmers mitigate sediment and nutrient loss from farms, due to the industry's proximity to the Great Barrier Reef and local catchments.
"There is a real desire and acknowledgement in the industry to look after the environment," she said.
"Growers are passionate environmentalists who really care about where they farm and know they farm in a really unique part of the world and want to keep it beautiful."
Mena Creek banana grower Naomi Abbott and Stewart Lindsay, team leader of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries's banana production systems at South Johnstone, helped develop the original program. (Ms Abbott was an extension officer with DAF at the time).
The program was designed to align with the Freshcare Environmental Program, an accredited program enabling banana growers in reef catchments to demonstrate their achieving reef regulations.
Ms Abbott said the BMP program was developed over a 12 month period, with nine Cassowary Coast growers meeting once a month to identify and reach consensus on what constituted "good practice" on farm.
This was supported with technical input, she said.
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